David Morgan Rees was one of the leading pioneers to champion the remarkable industrial heritage and archaeology of Wales, injecting a drive for industrial history, preservation and interpretation into Welsh national institutions. Rees' advocacy led to the founding of the first society in south Wales dedicated to industrial archaeology, and he was instrumental in establishing the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum that opened in 1977 as the first museum dedicated to the broad interpretation of Welsh industrial heritage. His legacy shapes how the industrial past is respected and shared today. This paper, driven by archival and landscape evidence, explores those hidden pasts and futures of Rees and industrial archaeology found throughout the echoes of the former Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum, its replacement in Swansea, the National Waterfront Museum, and various industrial sites and collections of Museum Wales. In doing so, the larger question of how biographical bureaucracies can linger on throughout sites as both tangible and intangible industrial heritage is addressed.
This paper demonstrates how industrial archaeology - combining field investigation with archival research - can yield new insights into early locomotive design, manufacture and use. It contrasts evidence derived from underwater sites, where wrecked machinery may survive in near 'as-built' condition, with that from museum artefacts, which embody complex histories of repair, modification and preservation. Case studies include failed and successful underwater investigations of shipwrecked locomotives, alongside detailed examinations of preserved engines in Britain and North America. These reveal previously unrecognised constructional features, material choices and evolutionary design changes, while also highlighting the interpretative challenges posed by later alterations and conservation practices. The paper emphasises the importance of understanding both an artefact's operational and preservation 'careers', and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. It concludes that systematic archaeological approaches significantly enhance the historiography of early railway engineering and offer a robust framework for future research.
